We arrived in Hohhot on the morning of the 19th, having flown in from Shanghai. First order of business: relax! It was the first time since Beijing that we didn't have to hail a cab at the airport; my working at a local hotel has some nice benefits (including free airport pick-up service for me and my parents!) The airport representative, a pal of mine, was cheerful and curious to see my parents. I got my parents settled into the hotel, a little bit nervous as many of my coworkers were looking on or helping with the luggage. It was interesting to hear their impressions of my family later. We were engaged that evening for a dinner with one of the managers in a hotel restaurant; I would hear from a housekeeper who roomed with the waitress who served us that she thought my parents were very proper and serious.
If my parents were proper and serious, the manager was even more so. She had arranged a full banquet, and since she manages all the restaurants in the hotel, the food was of the best quality and the waitress was at top form in service. We started with prawns in curry sauce, followed by stir-fried softshell crabs, stewed fish with tofu in spicy broth, vegetables rolled in tofu strips, hui cai (Mongolian mixed vegetables, very potato-rich) and rice at our request, as most of the food was very spicy.
The next day we set out for some local temples and more shopping. Dad was set on buying a pair of boots in Inner Mongolia, so first we headed to the "ethnic minority goods shopping center" and found a store selling all sorts of Mongolian souvenirs: wedding clothes, knives, horse head violins, sheep skins, and of course, boots. Dad found a reasonable pair of boots that said "urban cowboy meets grassland." Mission accomplished, we lunched in the shopping center and then hailed a cab to Wutasi, the Five Tower Temple.
I hadn't been to Wutasi since the fall, and I was interested to see the changes summer had brought to the arbor: it was brilliant green, with two kinds of squash vine growing and birds flitting in and out. The reason I liked this temple the first time around was its smallness and quietness; we were practically the only tourists in the temple complex. I would have gone into a worship hall, but I prefer to have a Buddhist practitioner with me to guide me on etiquette and prayer, so I passed.
Dad and I climbed the slick marble stairs up to the top of the Five Tower Temple (at the far back of the last courtyard) to take in some of the frieze on the towers up close. The temple frieze, which covers the exterior walls from almost the base to the top of the towers, contains over 1,500 Buddha figures, with no two exactly alike. It is lovely, and stands out among the structures in the region as it was constructed in a style imported from India.
Also interesting thing is that inside the temple is a giant circular stone slab, which is an ancient Mongolian star map. Like any of the statues of deities and bodhisattvas in the temple, it is a sacred object; thus, there is a prayer mat placed in front of it and a platform for making offerings. The temple blends Indian architecture, Himalayan Buddhism and ancient Mongolian cosmology; one would think that had to be a Silk Road phenomenon.
Next, we moved on to Da Zhao Temple, a larger temple, also Himalayan Buddhist; we didn't cover much ground but did visit one worship hall. I love the worship halls at this temple. Walking in, one must pass along the periphery of the room, touching prayer wheels as one goes. Inside the boundary made by the prayer wheels are elevated platforms for meditation and prayer; we saw one woman deep in meditation, completely still, her prayer beads grasped in one hand, her eyes as distant as if she were dreaming.
If my parents were proper and serious, the manager was even more so. She had arranged a full banquet, and since she manages all the restaurants in the hotel, the food was of the best quality and the waitress was at top form in service. We started with prawns in curry sauce, followed by stir-fried softshell crabs, stewed fish with tofu in spicy broth, vegetables rolled in tofu strips, hui cai (Mongolian mixed vegetables, very potato-rich) and rice at our request, as most of the food was very spicy.
The next day we set out for some local temples and more shopping. Dad was set on buying a pair of boots in Inner Mongolia, so first we headed to the "ethnic minority goods shopping center" and found a store selling all sorts of Mongolian souvenirs: wedding clothes, knives, horse head violins, sheep skins, and of course, boots. Dad found a reasonable pair of boots that said "urban cowboy meets grassland." Mission accomplished, we lunched in the shopping center and then hailed a cab to Wutasi, the Five Tower Temple.
I hadn't been to Wutasi since the fall, and I was interested to see the changes summer had brought to the arbor: it was brilliant green, with two kinds of squash vine growing and birds flitting in and out. The reason I liked this temple the first time around was its smallness and quietness; we were practically the only tourists in the temple complex. I would have gone into a worship hall, but I prefer to have a Buddhist practitioner with me to guide me on etiquette and prayer, so I passed.
Dad and I climbed the slick marble stairs up to the top of the Five Tower Temple (at the far back of the last courtyard) to take in some of the frieze on the towers up close. The temple frieze, which covers the exterior walls from almost the base to the top of the towers, contains over 1,500 Buddha figures, with no two exactly alike. It is lovely, and stands out among the structures in the region as it was constructed in a style imported from India.
Also interesting thing is that inside the temple is a giant circular stone slab, which is an ancient Mongolian star map. Like any of the statues of deities and bodhisattvas in the temple, it is a sacred object; thus, there is a prayer mat placed in front of it and a platform for making offerings. The temple blends Indian architecture, Himalayan Buddhism and ancient Mongolian cosmology; one would think that had to be a Silk Road phenomenon.
Next, we moved on to Da Zhao Temple, a larger temple, also Himalayan Buddhist; we didn't cover much ground but did visit one worship hall. I love the worship halls at this temple. Walking in, one must pass along the periphery of the room, touching prayer wheels as one goes. Inside the boundary made by the prayer wheels are elevated platforms for meditation and prayer; we saw one woman deep in meditation, completely still, her prayer beads grasped in one hand, her eyes as distant as if she were dreaming.
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